Chapter 235 – Academy Arc (9) – Private Tutoring
236. Academy Arc (9) – Private Tutoring
The next day, a holiday, at the appointed time.
“Ah! You’ve arrived.”
I waited for a bit in the magic department’s back garden, where I’d met Charlotte, and she appeared with a man in tow. She explained that he was a mage who would assess my magical aptitude.
Honestly, I already knew the outcome from what the goddesses had told me, but… still, it would be good to hear my level directly from people’s mouths.
“Please hold this for a moment.”
After a light greeting, he had me hold a strange object with a transparent sphere in the center. As he performed some kind of manipulation, mana slowly began to flow from me.
Soon, it was clear at a glance that a dense energy was surging in the center. It seemed to be an object that visualized the mana being channeled. The two of them, startled, quietly began to talk amongst themselves.
-This, this student has a natural talent! Both their mana affinity… and this level of purity is, well… it’s almost on par with the young lady.
-Yes. I, I’ve confirmed it too. I’m also curious.
-We must recruit him. Charlotte-nim! He’s an individual more than worth the effort.
-…I know!
Following that, Charlotte, unable to hide her excitement, spoke to me.
“Your magical talent is innate. Why on earth have you been doing swordsmanship all this time? This is a loss on a kingdom-wide scale, a loss! I recommend you switch your path to this right now.”
She then glanced at the man, who was looking at me with fervent eyes, and suggested that I join their side and learn magic through the formal course.
If I said okay here, my line would be confirmed with the Allton family.
But I wanted to freeload off of personal connections, not be tied down politically. And if I was such a big catch, I could just play it cool and get what I wanted from them. If I acted the part well, I wouldn’t even need hypnosis.
When I politely stated several times that swordsmanship was my top priority, Charlotte and the man looked at me with faces of lament. They could have secured a line even without me changing my path to magic, but they cautiously avoided mentioning it.
My hesitant attitude made the man think deeply, and then he asked me.
“Just a moment. But students from the swordsmanship department rarely take classes in our department. The relationship between the two departments isn’t exactly good… In fact, it might cause more problems and make things difficult for Raul. Isn’t there a subtle tension?”
He hit the nail on the head.
“Ah… now that you mention it, I did feel something like that… Hmm, now that I think about it, you’re right. My seniors might say something too. I was short-sighted.”
As I said that, I casually muttered, ‘If only there was a place where I wouldn’t have to worry about being watched….’
Hearing this, Charlotte clapped her hands lightly, as if she had a good idea.
“That’s it! Then how about coming to my private residence when you have time? I live right near the academy. I’m home most days except for a few, so I can look after you a bit.”
“You mean Charlotte-yang will teach me directly?”
“Yes. I’ve even taught my younger sister from the main family during the vacation? I’m quite talented at teaching, you know. It’s much better for you than getting into trouble, right? Besides, I’m also personally curious and want to see you up close.”
She then lightly dismissed the talk about lines, saying we could think about it later. The man seemed to have been planning to bestow favors and naturally draw me in, but Charlotte seemed to be driven more by pure intellectual curiosity.
I pretended to be hesitant a few more times, then accepted her offer.
Private tutoring from the top elite student of the department, no less.
She had a large following of admirers, and she could have spent her time having fun with them, yet she was making time for me.
My potential had caught her eye first, but either way, I was lucky.
It was a better development than I had intended, but she was so straightforward that I was a bit dazed. And to invite me to her private residence so easily. Did she not see me as a man at all? What if I had ulterior motives?
A few more days passed.
…………
“Lewin. I have some personal business outside the academy, so I’ll be out for a bit. I have a place to stop by.”
“Okay. ………Ah. How long will it take, do you think?”
“Well, it might be a bit late today. But I’ll be back before the dorm closes.”
“Really? Then maybe I’ll do some spring cleaning…”
Lewin’s eyes unconsciously sparkled.
“Again? You’re amazing, really.”
“…Hehe. I do it because I like it.”
She smiled faintly as she said that, and for some reason, Lewin’s eyelashes seemed particularly thick that day.
I left the dorm and exited the academy gates.
Not all regular students lived in the dorms. Wealthy nobles would buy and renovate residences nearby to make their own living spaces, and Charlotte was one such case. So, there was a high chance that Ferris was living separately as well.
Charlotte’s residence was in a quiet area, like most wealthy neighborhoods, and it looked quite luxurious from the outside. It wasn’t huge, but it had multiple stories and spacious front and back yards, making it good for activities. The neatly trimmed lawn and the new-looking exterior were also impressive.
I was hesitating in front of the gate, about to ring the bell, when an old man who looked like a butler approached me.
“Ah. I am…”
“……Are you saying you’ll be alone with her?”
The butler, who had been scanning me with suspicious eyes, made a strange face after hearing the situation. I thought I would be treated as a valued guest, but the atmosphere was different from what I expected. Soon, the butler made it clear that I should go back, as the young lady was out.
But I came at the time she told me to.
“It’s fine, let him in. This student is just here to learn magic from me.”
Luckily, Charlotte opened the door and stopped him. She was wearing casual clothes, but her outstanding figure couldn’t be hidden, creating a tight, voluminous look.
“Privately? Young lady, I’ve told you countless times. You shouldn’t bring strange men into the house.”
“Ugh! I don’t want to hear it! If you’re going to be like that, then Beherte-ssi is a man too.”
“That’s a fallacy…. Young lady. If the mistress hears that you brought a man home, she’ll activate the warp magic circle immediately. You know how much she cares for you.”
“That’s not what it is! Don’t tell my mother anything weird!”
She raised her voice, but she didn’t seem particularly embarrassed as a woman. She had made the offer purely out of curiosity, but it seemed she felt frustrated that others were interpreting it as they pleased. After that, Charlotte argued with the butler for a while before finally letting me in.
A neatly organized study room.
Being privately tutored by a beautiful girl made me feel excited, but that was only at first. Once I started the lesson, determined to learn properly, it felt like my head was going to explode. It was like studying math, starting from the basics of magic theory.
“Okay! Read this. You’ll feel it if you change the channeling here. Right?”
“Hmm…”
Charlotte seemed to be enjoying being in the position of teaching.
She was a puzzling girl.
In some ways, she was more arrogant than necessary, light, honest, and simple… Unlike most people her age, she wasn’t jealous of my talent… And she was giving me private lessons with a magnanimous attitude. Was it the magnanimity of a countess? Or was it some kind of elitism?
What was she?
I struggled with the theory and practice, and finally, I managed to make a small flame, about the size of a lighter, flicker from my fingertip.
‘Damn it, I guess I can’t just get it for free from the start?’
I had expected my uncontrollable magical power to surge, but that wasn’t the case. What was this about a body with mana and spirit affinity… As I was thinking that, Charlotte next to me blinked her large eyes and exclaimed in admiration.
“You manifested it so soon after learning the theory… You definitely have a natural gift.”
“Is that so?”
“Of course. Your learning speed is incredibly fast. It took my younger sister a week to manifest it.”
Ah, so I was good. I was wrong to doubt you, goddesses.
“Maybe I’ll become Charlotte-yang’s rival someday.”
“Huh? Hehe! You’re joking… Well, that would be a fresh stimulus and fun. But I’m much stronger than you think.”
Looking at her relaxed demeanor, she seemed very confident in her magical talent.
“Ugh~!!”
Charlotte stretched in her chair, making her full chest stand out even more. The buttons on her chest also seemed to tremble as if they were about to burst. Was it just my imagination?
‘Hmm……….’
She was making such seductive movements unconsciously, and she didn’t seem to notice anything strange. Or maybe she just didn’t see me as a man. I thought my face was pretty decent, but maybe she had a different taste in men.
“Maybe it’s because the teacher is so outstanding, but you’re off to a great start.”
“Hehehe! Oh, excuse me again…”
“And you’re very beautiful.”
“Hmph~ Everyone says the same thing. Even if you praise me, nothing will come out~”
Charlotte puffed up her chest, looking pleased when I praised her. I felt her favorability increasing as I praised her on various intellectual aspects.
Her lips were also shaped like a cute ‘w’, like a cat, and her whole face was saying, ‘Praise me more!’
It seemed that being praised was sweeter than anything else.
I glanced at her and decided to poke her once.
“And your figure is… Ah. Never mind.”
“Yes, my fig… …Fi, fi-figure….”
Suddenly, her voice broke down, and silence fell.
Soon, Charlotte, with a serious face, grabbed her arms together and instinctively protected her chest.
“What did you mean by that just now…?”
“…I apologize. I unintentionally made a rude remark. I won’t say anything like that again.”
“……O, okay.”
When I apologized honestly, she answered in a hesitant voice.
So, it wasn’t that she was completely unaware of herself as a woman. Well, she was a young woman in her prime. But what was that awkward reaction just now? Had she never had the chance to hear such blatant talk? Come to think of it, it seemed like her mother was overprotective of her.
After that, I consciously turned my head and focused on my studies again.
“……………….”
Charlotte quietly looked down at her body and glanced at me, even fastening another button.
But since I continued to completely ignore her body, Charlotte, who had been suspicious, slowly lowered her guard. But as that awkward state continued, Charlotte, who had been rolling her eyes in various directions, looked at me again and asked in a low voice.
“………What about my figure…?”
“I promised I wouldn’t say it again. And you probably wouldn’t like it if you heard it.”
“Un, unpleasant… …Ugh, I’m the one who decides that… Well, fine.”
Charlotte’s voice trailed off into a grumble, and she didn’t ask any further.
A completely different reaction from when we were talking about academic matters.
Now, I could roughly guess what Charlotte was like.
Perhaps it was because she grew up in a ‘clean’ environment, but she seemed almost immune to anything even slightly lewd. Maybe she had never had the chance to experience it. I thought she had more intellectual pride than any other mage, but perhaps those rational achievements were filling the void of sexual desire, and she didn’t even realize she was trying to hide it.
So, it was like she still had a girlish side in her mind, but her body had grown up to be sexy.
And that also meant she was in a state where she was easily influenced.
‘Easily influenced, huh….’
I grinned inwardly, and anyway, we finished our first lesson in that awkward atmosphere.
In front of the gate, while the old butler glared at us from afar, I said goodbye to Charlotte. The sun, which had been high in the sky, had now descended further down.
“Can I come back for help again next time?”
“Yes. Do so. ………Oh, and. You’re a commoner, right?”
“Yes.”
“And you don’t have anyone to rely on?”
“Yes. Why do you ask?”
“Hmm………. Well, I was just curious.”
With those meaningful questions, Charlotte closed the door. I shrugged alone and returned to the dorm.
